The Brotherhood
by ToughKrys
Summary: The Russian mob is looking to the expand and the Expendables search to recruit new members to thwart the expansion of the Russians. Along the way Barney Ross is forced to open up more about his past and move on from it. Rated M for many things.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Expendables, nor some of the themes that I have incorporated into this story from Rambo, and Army of Two. This is not a cross-over. I however do own the Dixon twins. **

**AN: Not my first story on this website, but I am trying to delete my old account. I figured I would start kick off this new account with a story that I have had in my head for a while now. This takes place after the second movie. This story is mainly about Barney, and does have some romantic themes. Let me know what you guys think, and also just a note from myself, and my beta; we both edited this as much as we could. She however had some family stuff come up and I am pretty unreliable about editing my own work unless I have let it sit on my computer for over a year. I didn't want to do this with this story, so if anyone sees any mistakes, let me know and I will edit them asap. I hope everyone enjoys!**

They sat down in front of the computer watching the security footage that Yang had suggested that they watch. The entire team was there, and all of them were puzzled as to why they had been asked to meet up at the shop as if it were an emergency. There had been a desperation in Yang's voice when he had called them. The desperation in his tone was the only thing that had brought them all there without too much bitterness. Yang hadn't wasted any time, he had waved them over one by one to a computer and never explained before just selecting play.

Barney sat back in his chair that he had rolled over to the computer. He wasn't sure why he was watching it, for it still wasn't clear what was going on in the security feed. So far all activity in the video looked like a normal day at a busy a Middle Eastern airport. People anxiously looking for their luggage, someone arguing with a customs official, and hundreds of people just trying to get from one place to the next without too much interference. Then things became chaotic.

Four minutes into the feed it was obvious that the video was a terrorist take over of the airport. If he had to speculate as to what airport it was, he would guess Dubai International. He guessed this mainly from the sheer size of the place, and for some reason the place looked oddly familiar to him. Maybe it was because in some way all airport's resembled each other, but it reminded him of the time he had been to Dubai International.

If it was Dubai though, this would have had have been a rather recent attack, maybe so recent that Yang was streaming it live. He noted the date on the corner of the feed being from two years ago. This surprised him and made him change his theory about the airport being Dubai International. He hadn't known any activity like that during that time frame so he had to be was wrong.

Behind Barney, Gunnar made a noise. It sounded of exasperation, which caused Barney for a moment to stop paying attention to the security footage. He fought the urge to scold the giant. The man deserved a break, he had done a lot to prove himself to the group after he had sobered up. While Barney had decided to let the scolding go, Yang didn't. The Chinese-American turned around in his chair in front of the computer and glared heatedly at the bigger man.

"Yang get to the point, I actually have a date tonight," mumbled Gunner.

There was a moment of silence as they all turned to stare at Gunner. He looked uncomfortable under their gaze. He cleared his throat and tried to get them to turn back to the video. They all wanted to pry, but Gunner wasn't the sort that would want to answer questions about it so they all kept quiet and turned back to the computer. Yang sped the feed up a bit until he got to the time frame he wanted them to be aware of.

At the bottom of the screen there was a frame that caught their attention. Two figures hugged the wall, checking their weapons. Barney eased forward as he checked the two figures out. They were heavily armed, and heavily armored. Yang paused the video right after the two figures pushed up the distinctive ballistic masks that were painted to look like skulls, and the video resolution cleared up so they had a good look at the people's faces.

There features weren't very distinct in anyway besides the fact that they looked identical. On closer inspection, Barney realized that they were identical, twins to be exact. The only reason he figured it out before someone confirmed it aloud was both siblings shared a small mole on their left cheek. It reminded him on how when he was younger Marilyn Monroe marketed the mole over her lip as a beauty mark. Usually if the blemish wasn't raised everyone tried to call it a beauty mark., when in fact it was just a mole.

"So what are we supposed to be looking at?" asked Lee as he leaned over Yang to get a closer look at the two people at the bottom of the screen.

"Dixon twins," stated Yang. The problem with his statement was that it sounded like they were supposed to understand immediately about what he was talking about. When no one responded Yang sighed and pressed play again, informing them to just keep watching. So they did.

Within five minutes Barney understood the reason they were watching this. When no reinforcements showed up on screen it was clear that the Dixon twins were a coop military team. It was rare, but sometimes the government formed them, not just private sector. Usually when this happened though the enemy consisted of a small force, usually no more than twenty men. So far Barney had seen close to what he thought was forty men. The ratio was nearly unbelievable. What was also unbelievable was after twenty minutes the twins had cleared the entire airport without so much as a hostage casualty. Also while confirming a body count of 52 enemy targets, they had done it all, just the two of them. Yang paused the video again just after one of the twins pushed the Kevlar mask up to reveal his face again right at the same time he looked up into a security camera.

"This was never made public?" asked Toll.

Yang just nodded his head as he spun around in his chair to face all of them. The look on his face was serious. Unfortunately they were all still very unclear about the specifics as to why Yang wanted to them watch the video in the first place. Barney had multiple theories but none of them seemed right so he didn't cling to any of them.

"I am still unsure about some stuff myself but from what I researched is they are a United States Ghost team. They don't exist, that is why this event was never made public. The only problem is that they do exist and I was able to find this video after I had heard a rumor that the Dixon twins retired. I had never heard about them as I am sure you guys haven't either, but the problem is that they have retired. Guys, if I can find this information, others can too."

"What is your point Yang?" asked Gunner. The man was smart but sometimes it was evident that the amount of time he had used had made it harder for him to follow conversation.

"His point is if we don't recruit them, someone else will," explained Barney.

"Precisely," agreed Yang.

"Is there a reason we should fear them?" asked Caesar.

"It just depends who gets to them first," said Lee.

Barney sighed and ran a hand through his hair. There were plenty of capable soldiers out there, plenty that were well decorated that had recently retired. There was something about the Dixon twins that worried him just like they worried Yang. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they were the first coop ghost team he had actually seen footage of, making them real, not just some work of government conspiracy. Maybe it was the fact that most ghost teams usually perished in combat and usually consisted of more than just two people. These two clearly hadn't, and if there was a rumor circulating around their retirement that meant that they were a commodity that someone else wanted.

When the Kid had went on market it was the same way. There had been a rumor about him in the private sector, which meant someone out there wanted to recruit him. They had been lucky to get to him first. It wasn't usually everyday that they actually sniffed out the rumors, nor actually gave them much thought. The Kid had an impressive resume that had drawn them to him. The Dixon twins didn't feel any different and he only knew of this one accomplishment.

"What can you tell me about them?" asked Barney.

"Sid and Sean Dixon. Sid was Marine special forces and Sean was an Army Ranger. The only other thing I could come up with is that there were a Sidney and Sean Dixon born and raised in Bowie, Arizona. From the state records, one joined the Marines, one joined the Army. It has to be them. Their family still has a ranch out there and I think that might be were they retired to."

There was a moment where Barney recognized the irony that they lived in the same place as the fictional character John Rambo had been raised.

"What do you guys think?" asked Barney. He knew he was going to get mixed reviews. It was nearly a split down the center. Half thought they could use the extra hands on the team, the other half thought it was too risky to bring in more people into the team.

"We don't need them, and I don't think we need to worry about them getting recruited by someone else that we should fear," said Caesar.

Yang turned his haunted gaze up at all of them. There was something that Yang hadn't told them yet. The Expendables were a great team, and they didn't have a whole lot to be afraid of. Instantly they all knew that they weren't going to like what the Chinese-American was going to say. Yang gave them a moment to prepare for the worst before he told them.

"Roman Kazimir is out to recruit the twins."

That was not what they thought they were going to hear. The man in question was dangerous, and honestly it surprised them all that Kazimir wanted to recruit the twins. The reason that this was surprising was because Roman Kazimir was not just any Russian mobster. He was the Solntsevskaya Bratva (Solntsevskaya Brotherhood which is the largest group that falls under what is called the Russian Mob). Roman Kazimir was a very powerful man who had the resources to hire or create the best army. If Kazimir was after them that meant the twins were better than they thought, or there were connections that Kazimir could get by recruiting them.

Kazimir was a legitimate threat to anyone that didn't work for him. Right now his criminal empire stretched over most of Europe, and it was starting to find its way into the Middle East. He had few connections in the United States as well, but if he could recruit American reconnaissance soldiers who were obviously great at their jobs, then he was looking to expand. There wasn't a question anymore, they had to get to the Dixon twins before Kazimir did.

"I will go," said Barney as he turned and made eye contact with the twin who was staring up into the security camera.


End file.
